Bragging rights on the line for Keith and Marcus Marshall in this Saturday's Georgia-Georgia Tech game
ATHENS, Ga. -- For one day, Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets will get along.
Leave it to the Marshall brothers -- Georgia's Keith Marshall and Georgia Tech's Marcus Marshall -- to make this happen on Thanksgiving Day.
Keith, a Georgia senior playing in his final regular-season game, and Marcus, a Georgia Tech freshman playing his in last game of his first season, will have Thanksgiving dinner hosted by an aunt who lives in Atlanta.
Joining Keith will be few Georgia teammates who need a place to spend Thanksgiving. With Marcus will be a few of his Georgia Tech teammates. As the Marshalls, and their respective teammates, gear up for both teams' biggest rivalry game on Saturday, these selected players are putting aside their allegiances in the spirit of the holiday.
"I think a couple of his
teammates are going to be there and I'm bringing a couple of mine who didn't have anywhere to go," Marcus said. "It's really interesting. Hopefully there won't be too much smack talk."
The Marshall family, outside of Keith and Marcus, will be neutral for Saturday's 108th meeting between Georgia and Georgia Tech. Marcus said Denise Marshall, Keith and Marcus' mother, had shirts made that read "house united instead of divided." Denise also had a split jersey made that will be half of Keith's No. 4 and half of Marcus' No. 34.
While Keith is OK with the gesture, he doesn't want to see his mother wearing gold and blue in the Georgia section.
"I told my mom she can't wear that in our stands," Keith said smiling. "I guess she'll have to sit over there. We got a rule: you can't wear anything with the other team on it."
Keith has long been a role model for Marcus, who said Keith and other family members living in the Atlanta area factored into his decision to choose Georgia Tech. But while Keith was ranked as high as a five-star prospect, Marcus wasn't as highly coveted, despite the fact he broke Keith's single-season school rushing record with 2,198 yards and 31 touchdowns at Millbrook in Raleigh, N.C.
While the Yellow Jackets are 3-8 this season, Marcus' freshman season has gotten off to a good start.
Marcus leads Georgia Tech in rushing with 77 carries for 609 yards and four touchdowns. He credited his older brother for his early success.
"Throughout high school when I would talk to him to stay confident and that I'm confident at competing at the highest level," Marcus said. "He was always real supportive. It helped me with my confidence.
Ever since Marcus enrolled at Georgia Tech, the two brothers have been able to visit each other frequently, which included Keith taking Marcus on visits to a local lake. Keith's gotten to know some of the Yellow Jacket players and Marcus has become friends with some of the Bulldogs.
Georgia sophomore running back Sony Michel has been among those to meet Marcus, calling him a "pretty good guy."
"I know it is going to be a great battle between them two," Michel said. "(Keith's) brother is pretty good. He's been having some success over there at Georgia Tech. But he's going to have to face a good defense and it's going to be rough for him."
After Georgia Tech returned to Atlanta after last week's loss to Miami, Marcus drove up to Athens to hang out with Keith after Georgia's 23-17 overtime win against Georgia Southern. The two ordered pizza and caught up on their lives outside of football.
Marcus saw Keith go through the pain of rehabbing a torn ACL sustained in 2013, which cost him the majority of the 2014 season. By the time Marshall was recovered, it resulted in Keith moving down to third string on Georgia's depth chart.
Last week, head coach Mark Richt announced Keith would bypass a potential fifth year and take his chances in the NFL draft. Marcus believes Keith has what it takes to make it at the next level and supports his decision.
"I feel like my brother is one of the best in the country," Marcus said. "If he hadn't been injured he'd already be in the league."
Keith and Marcus, and a few of their teammates, will enjoy each other's company for a Thanksgiving feast. Two days later, they'll be on opposite sides on teams that don't like each other too much.
It will be the only time the Marshall brothers are able to play each other in a college football game. Therefore, bragging rights are on the line. But when it comes to his younger brother's future, Keith will support him, despite the fact Marcus plays for the team he hates the most.
"I was really just happy he was getting the opportunity to live out his dream," Keith said. "He made that decision and I supported him 100 percent -- even though it's Tech."
This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Bragging rights on the line for Keith and Marcus Marshall in this Saturday's Georgia-Georgia Tech game ."